Newcastle striker Ranger arrested on suspicion of rape... the day after he spelt his name out in £1,500 worth of £20 notes

Newcastle United striker Nile Ranger has been arrested on suspicion of rape.

Police said they received a report from a woman alleging she had been sexually assaulted by a Newcastle United player in a hotel on Wednesday night.

Officers arrived at Ranger's home in Forest Hall, North Tyneside, on Thursday evening and took him to Wallsend police station for questioning. He was released on bail on Friday afternoon.

Questioned: Newcastle United striker Nile Ranger has been detained by police and questioned about an allegation of rape

The arrest came hours after Ranger, 21, used more than £1,500 to spell out his surname in £20 notes, before taking a picture and posting it on Instagram.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: 'On Thursday, January 24, a woman reported to police that she had been raped overnight at a hotel in Jesmond.

'A 21-year-old man has been arrested at an address in Forest Hall on suspicion of rape.' The police confirmed the same 21-year-old was later released on bail.

Flush: Ranger posted this picture of his surname spelt out in £20 notes on his Instagram account

Ranger angered Newcastle fans after questioning why they were booing him during the 2-1 home defeat by Reading at the weekend.

Back on the fringes of the first team at Newcastle, he tweeted on Saturday after the side's Premier League loss: 'Certain fans need to not come and support this team... Coming out to BOOO us.. Stay at home.. Don't need ur BOO's.... SAY NO MORE !!!"

He followed it up with: 'Last thing from me... To all the fans. U are not forced to buy season tickets.. Or pay our wages.. Please remember that...'

The response from the Toon Army was fierce, with fans demanding he never wear the black and white shirt again.

The day after, he tweeted: 'God gives the hardest battles to the strongest soldiers !!'

Ranger, an England Under 19 player, has
had a troubled time at Newcastle, and has been loaned to Sheffield
Wednesday and Barnsley.

A Newcastle United spokeswoman declined to comment.

Cast adrift: Ranger has not impressed manager Alan Pardew with his attitude

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has previously commented that he is at the end of his tether with the striker.

'I think I’ve been fair with him,' Pardew, who gave Ranger 18 first-team chances last season, said in October.

‘This
guy is late so often, it is unbelievable. He’s still at this football
club and we’re still trying to do something with him.

'But he will still not get back in the team unless he has a period of six weeks where he isn’t late.

'I don’t think it is going to happen. It is important, I’m not going to let him train with my first team because he is letting the other players down.'

Snapshots: Previous photographs posted on Nile Ranger's Instagram account, including one with his cousin Kain and a personalised football table (below)

Asked if he thought Ranger would ever clean his act up, Pardew responded: 'For Nile? That’s up to him.'

Pardew went on to reveal that the reason for Ranger not being sent out on loan this season is that no clubs have shown an interest in him.

Pardew said: 'The bottom line is we haven’t got four or five clubs queuing up (to take him).

'In fact we haven’t got one club queuing up for him. That should be alarm bells in his head to get his act in order. But maybe he doesn’t want to be a footballer.'